"Battle of Ferrybridge The Battle of Ferrybridge, 28 March 1461, was a preliminary engagement between the houses of York and Lancaster before the larger battle of Towton, during the period known as the Wars of the Roses. After proclaiming himself king, Edward IV gathered together a large force and marched north towards the Lancastrian position behind the Aire River in Yorkshire. On 27 March the Earl of Warwick (leading the vanguard) forced a crossing at Ferrybridge, bridging the gaps (the Lancastrians having previously destroyed it) with planks. In the process he lost many men, both to the freezing winter water"
"commemorate the event. Various archaeological remains and mass graves related to the battle were found in the area centuries after the engagement. In 1461, England was in the sixth year of the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster over the English throne. The Lancastrians backed the reigning King of England, Henry VI, an indecisive man who had bouts of madness. The leader of the Yorkists was initially Richard, Duke of York, who resented the dominance of a small number of aristocrats favoured by the king, principally his close relatives the"
"the country. It is described as ""probably the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil"", and according to historical sources, probably the longest. According to chroniclers, more than 50,000 soldiers from the Houses of York and Lancaster fought for hours amidst a snowstorm on that day, which was Palm Sunday. A newsletter circulated a week after the battle reported that 28,000 died on the battlefield. Contemporary accounts described Henry VI as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, such as the Wars of the Roses. He had periods of insanity while his inherent benevolence"
"were crushed at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December. York Rutland and Salisbury, died in or soon after the battle. The Queen's army made its way south towards London. Mowbray, Warwick and his brother John Neville, Lord Montagu, marched north to intercept the approaching Lancastrians. Mowbray brought King Henry with them. The armies clashed on 17 February 1461 outside St Albans, where the Yorkists were defeated. Mowbray and Warwick abandoned the King to his wife and her supporters, and retreated to London before the victorious Lancastrian army could reach the city. The Lancastrian army marched on London, but were"
"London"" reports 1,500 dead, whereas ""Warkworth's Chronicle"" states 4,000. Edward Hall and Raphael Holinshed, both 16th-century chroniclers, say that at least 10,000 men died in the battle. The Yorkists suffered half as many casualties as the Lancastrians. Royle favours the recorded approximate figures of 500 Yorkists and 1,000 Lancastrians dead. The bodies of the two Neville brothers were brought back to London. They did not suffer the customary fate accorded to traitors—quartering and display at the city gates. Edward exhibited the brothers' naked corpses in St. Paul's Cathedral for three days to quell any rumours that they had survived, before"
"Sonday Felde"" but the name did not gain wide acceptance. Popular opinion favoured naming the battle after the village of Towton because of its proximity and it being the most prominent in the area. Contemporary sources declare that the two armies were huge, stating that more than 100,000 men fought in the battle. An account in William Gregory's ""Chronicle of London"" (15th century) by a soldier who had served in the Wars, claimed that the Yorkists had 200,000 soldiers, while the Lancastrian army had even more. Later historians believe that these figures were exaggerated and that a combined figure of"
"also executed after the battle which had been commanded on the Lancastrian side by Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, while Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, had led the Yorkists and was consequently slain in the fighting. Margaret of Anjou, Queen of England, was in Scotland at the time raising support for her cause and so had not been present at Wakefield. In less than two months, the Yorkists suffered another major defeat at the Second Battle of St Albans on 17 February 1461, and the Lancastrian army's commander Margaret of Anjou, in an act of vengeance, personally ordered the"
"was a decisive victory for the Yorkists and their leader, King Edward IV. The forces of the House of Lancaster were decimated, and their leaders killed or captured, leaving Edward as the unchallenged ruler of England. Several Lancastrians fled the battlefield and sought sanctuary at Tewkesbury Abbey. The Yorkists stormed the abbey, captured their foes, and executed them. The re-enactment at the first festival was a simple affair compared to later years: approximately 100 local enthusiasts, kitted out in crude imitations of medieval gear, fought each other on the fields of Tewkesbury. They wore woollen chainmail or armour made of"
"1461 reported a widely circulated figure of 28,000 casualties in the battle, which Charles Ross and other historians believe was exaggerated. The number was taken from the heralds' estimate of the dead and appeared in letters from Edward and the Bishop of Salisbury, Richard Beauchamp. Other contemporary sources gave higher numbers, ranging from 30,000 to 38,000; Hall quoted an exact figure of 36,776. An exception was the ""Annales rerum anglicarum"", which stated the Lancastrians had 9,000 casualties—an estimate Ross found to be more believable. The Lancastrian nobility had heavy losses. Trollope and Northumberland fell in battle, and Lord Dacre was"
"an hour slain and dead, and his whole army discomfited. One near-contemporary source (""Gregory's Chronicle"") claimed that 2,500 Yorkists and 200 Lancastrians were killed, but other sources give wildly differing figures, from 2,200 to only 700 Yorkist dead. The Duke of York was either killed in the battle or captured and immediately executed. Some later works support the folklore that he suffered a crippling wound to the knee and was unhorsed, and he and his closest followers then fought to the death at that spot; others relate the account that he was taken prisoner (by one Sir James Luttrell of"
"from the chronicler John Hardyng. But in the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460, the Lancastrians won a decisive victory. The Duke of York, his second son Edmund, Earl of Rutland, and Cecily's brother Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, were among the casualties. Cecily sent her two youngest sons, George and Richard, to the court of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy. This forced Philip to ally with the Yorkists. Cecily's eldest son Edward successfully continued the fight against the Lancastrians. When Cecily moved to Baynard's Castle in London, it became the Yorkist headquarters, and after Edward defeated the Lancastrians"
"castle on 30 December. His reasons for doing so have been variously ascribed to deception by the Lancastrian armies, or treachery by some nobles and Lancastrian officers who York thought were his allies, or simple rashness or miscalculation by York. The Duke of York was killed and his army was destroyed, many of the prominent Yorkist leaders and their family members died in the battle or were captured and executed. King Henry VI ascended the throne in 1422, when he was only nine months old. He grew up to be an ineffective king, and prone to spells of mental illness."
"around 50,000 is more likely. Nevertheless, the armies gathered at Towton were among the largest at the time. An analysis of skeletons found in a mass grave in 1996 showed that the soldiers came from all walks of life; they were on average 30 years old and several were veterans of previous engagements. Many knights and noblemen, approximately three-quarters of the English peers fought in the battle. Eight of them were sworn to the Yorkist cause whereas the Lancastrians had at least 19. The battle would decide which of the two kings would rule over England, but while Edward fought"
"in Gloucestershire, and was dedicated on the anniversary of the battle in 2014. Battle of Tewkesbury The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses. The forces loyal to the House of Lancaster were completely defeated by those of the rival House of York under their monarch, King Edward IV. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward, Prince of Wales, and many prominent Lancastrian nobles were killed during the battle or were dragged from sanctuary two days later and immediately executed. The Lancastrian king, Henry VI,"
"to be welcomed by William Hulin, Lord Mayor of London, and Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury. The Yorkist army then marched towards Northampton to meet Henry VI and his Lancastrian army, and the two forces met at the Battle of Northampton on 10 July. Battle of Sandwich (1460) The Battle of Sandwich was a naval skirmish off the town of Sandwich on 15 January 1460 during the Wars of the Roses. In it, Sir John Dynham and the Earl of Warwick, Captain of Calais, on the Yorkist side, defeated a Lancastrian fleet and captured several of its ships. Little evidence"
"battle in 1461. The bodies showed severe injuries to their upper torsos; arms and skulls were cracked or shattered. One exhumed specimen, known as Towton 25, had the front of his skull bisected: a weapon had slashed across his face, cutting a deep wound that split the bone. The skull was also pierced by another deep wound, a horizontal cut from a blade across the back. The Lancastrians lost more troops in their rout than from the battlefield. Men struggling across the river were dragged down by currents and drowned. Those floundering were stepped on and pushed under water by"
"Neville and Yorkist estates and tenantry, to such an extent that in December 1460, the duke of York and his close ally, the earl of Salisbury, raised an army and headed north to crush the Lancastrian rebellion. This winter campaign culminated in the Battle of Wakefield in the last days of the year, and was a decisive victory for the Lancastrian army, of which Clifford was by now an important commander. The battle resulted in the deaths of both York and Salisbury, but was probably most notorious for Clifford's slaying of Edmund, Earl of Rutland, York's seventeen-year old second son"
"execution, as the Duke of Somerset feared that his own younger brother who was in Yorkist hands might be executed in reprisal. Henry knighted the young Prince Edward, who in turn knighted thirty Lancastrian leaders. One was Andrew Trollope, an experienced captain who had deserted the Yorkists at the Battle of Ludford Bridge in 1459 and who was reckoned by many to have planned the Lancastrian victories at Wakefield and St Albans. At St Albans, he had injured his foot stepping on one of Warwick's caltrops, but he nevertheless claimed to have killed fifteen Yorkists. Although Margaret and her army"
"defensive position at Sandal Castle near Wakefield over Christmas 1460. Then on 30 December, his forces left the castle and attacked the Lancastrians in the open, although outnumbered. The ensuing Battle of Wakefield was a complete Lancastrian victory. Richard of York was slain in the battle, and both Salisbury and York's 17-year-old second son, Edmund, Earl of Rutland, were captured and executed. Margaret ordered the heads of all three placed on the gates of York. The Act of Accord and the events of Wakefield left the 18-year-old Edward, Earl of March, York's eldest son, as Duke of York and heir"
"the fortifications, and fled the field as their line was rolled up by attacking Yorkists. The Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord Egremont and Lord Beaumont all died trying to save Henry from the Yorkists closing on his tent. Three hundred other Lancastrians were slain in the battle. King Henry VI was captured by an archer, Henry Mountfort. Henry was found in his tent by Warwick, March and Fauconberg. Showing him proper respect they escorted him to Delapre Abbey, then Northampton, and finally London, where the tower garrison surrendered soon after. Battle of Northampton (1460) The Battle of"
"the feud were killed in the civil wars over the next few years. The new Earl of Devon, who had killed Radford, was a thorough supporter of the Lancastrian regime. After the Yorkist victory at the Battle of Northampton in June 1460, he took his troops northwards to Margaret of Anjou in York, where, in April 1461, he was executed by the new king, Edward IV after the Battle of Towton. Bonville's son and grandson had been killed with the Duke of York and the Earl of Salisbury at the Battle of Wakefield in December 1460, and Bonville himself, captured"
"almost unassailable, but under the pressure of Edward's Flemish handgunners, once the battle began Beaufort moved down from the heights and attacked Edward IV's right flank. He was assailed by both the king and Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and was soon put to flight, his conduct having practically decided the battle in favour of the Yorkists. After the defeat, Somerset and other Lancastrian leaders took refuge in Tewkesbury Abbey, but they were forced from sanctuary two days later. They were tried and executed immediately, at the Cross in the centre of Tewkesbury, on Monday 6 May 1471. He was buried"
"at Sandwich in Kent, with popular support from London and the south east of England. He then marched into the Midlands and, aided by treachery in the Lancastrian army, he captured King Henry at the Battle of Northampton. Battle of Ludford Bridge The Battle of Ludford Bridge was a largely bloodless battle fought in the early years of the Wars of the Roses. It took place on 12 October 1459, and resulted in a setback for the Yorkists. Although this seemed to be a triumph for the rival Lancastrians at the time, they had thrown away their advantage within six"
"then supposedly concocted the Lancastrian plan at the Battle of Wakefield, where York and Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury were killed. Andrew Trollope also fought at the Second Battle of St Albans (where he stepped on a caltrop) and was knighted by Prince Edward. His importance to the Lancastrian cause can be seen by the fact that, in March 1461, the recently proclaimed King Edward IV offered a £100 reward to anyone who killed ""certain named enemies of the House of York"", which included Trollope. At the Battle of Towton (29 March 1461) Trollope shared the command of the"
"their smaller army marched north the following month; Bonville remained in London. Bonville's son, however, marched with York, and fell with him at the Battle of Wakefield, where the Yorkist army went down to a crushing defeat by the Lancastrian army on 30 December 1460.The Lancastrians proceeded to march south; Salisbury's son, Richard, Earl of Warwick, had been left in charge of the King in London. Bonville, who had been in the southwest raising an army, returned to London. Warwick, Bonville and other lords left the capital on 12 February 1461 with an army to intercept the Queen's force before"
"army's march through northern France. He commanded the right wing at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415, during which he became the highest-ranking English casualty. According to some, he rushed forward to save King Henry V who had been assisting his younger brother, Humphrey of Gloucester, and had been assailed and fatally wounded by the Duke of Alençon. York's intervention saved the king's life but cost the duke his own. His death has been variously attributed to a head wound and to being 'smouldered to death' by 'much heat and pressing'. York was buried in the Church of"
"estates to protect the border. In 1388, Henry Percy was taken prisoner and 1500 of his men slain at the battle of Otterburn, immortalised in the ballad of Chevy Chase. Alnwick, Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh were garrisoned for the Lancastrian cause in 1462, but after the Yorkist victories of Hexham and Hedgley Moor in 1464, Alnwick and Dunstanburgh surrendered, and Bamburgh was taken by storm. In September 1513, King James IV of Scotland was killed at the Battle of Flodden on Branxton Moor. Roman Catholic support in Northumberland for Mary, Queen of Scots, led to the Rising of the North in"
"the two knights immunity, but Margaret gainsaid him and ordered their executions by decapitation. It is alleged that she put the men on trial at which her son presided. ""Fair son"", she allegedly asked, ""what death shall these knights die?"" Prince Edward replied that their heads should be cut off, despite the king's pleas for mercy. The Lancastrian army was beaten at the Battle of Towton on 29 March 1461 by the son of the late Duke of York, the future Edward IV of England, who deposed King Henry and proclaimed himself king. Margaret was determined to win back her"
"was marching south to meet the Lancastrian army marching north. The Lancastrians suffered a crushing defeat at the First Battle of St Albans on 22 May 1455. Edmund Beaufort (Somerset), the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Clifford were killed, Wiltshire fled the battlefield and King Henry was taken prisoner by the victorious Duke of York. In March 1458 along with her husband and leading nobles of the warring factions, she took part in The Love Day procession in London. In 1459, hostilities resumed at the Battle of Blore Heath, where James Tuchet, 5th Baron Audley, was defeated by a Yorkist"
"could muster in Leicester and move north to crush the rebellion. The Lancastrian army moved through Northumberland in late April 1464 under the Duke of Somerset, and gathered support from Lancastrian garrisons until it camped near to Hexham in early May. A Yorkist force under John Neville raced north as vanguard of Edward's larger force, and the two sides met outside Hexham on 14 May 1464. Details of the site of the battle, the composition and number of combatants and the events are sketchy but it is thought that the battle was relatively bloodless. The Lancastrian camp was near Linnels"
"Yorkists. By the end of the day, the Lancastrian line had broken up, as small groups of men began fleeing for their lives. Polydore Vergil, chronicler for Henry VII of England, claimed that combat lasted for a total of 10 hours. The tired Lancastrians flung off their helmets and armour to run faster. Without such protection, they were much more vulnerable to the attacks of the Yorkists. Norfolk's troops were much fresher and faster. Fleeing across what would later become known as Bloody Meadow, many Lancastrians were cut down from behind or were slain after they had surrendered. Before the"
"the eastern route into Scotland, and in 1461 King Edward IV attempted to break the Lancastrian stranglehold on the region. Sir Ralph Percy, one of the joint constables, defended the castle until September 1461, when he surrendered it to the Yorkists. In 1462, Henry VI's wife, Margaret of Anjou, invaded England with a French army, landing at Bamburgh; Percy then switched sides and declared himself for the Lancastrians. Another Yorkist army was dispatched north in November under the joint command of the earls of Warwick and Worcester, and Sir Ralph Grey. They besieged the castle, which surrendered that Christmas. Percy"
"under Lancastrian commanders held out for years: Dunstanburgh, Alnwick (the Percy family seat), and Bamburgh were some of the last to fall. There was also some fighting in Ireland. At the Battle of Piltown in 1462, the Yorkish supporter Thomas FitzGerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, defeated the Lancastrian Butlers of Kilkenny. The Butlers suffered more than 400 casualties. Local folklore claims that the battle was so violent that the local river ran red with blood, hence the names Pill River and Piltown (""Baile an Phuill"", meaning ""Town of the blood""). There were Lancastrian revolts in the north of England in"